Filed under: Press Releases 2014

Planning application re-submission without genuine consultation will only lead to a deepening conflict. NEPPC has submitted a formal complaint directly to the European Commission concerning the activities and behaviour of EirGrid in particular, but also of the Irish Government and of An Bord Pleanála (ABP) in relation to their failure to perform their duties in a professional, objective and impartial manner concerning the North-South Interconnector Project (NSIP) to date.

EirGrid is on course to cause irreparable damage to credibility of ESB by refusing to engage or consult with people of the North-East. The ESB submission to the Energy Green Paper highlighted a number of major concerns related to EirGrid’s Grid 25 strategy for upgrading the electricity grid infrastructure.

NEPPC calls on Government to force EirGrid to progress with an underground solution. There is a significant weakness in the approach by EirGrid of focusing solely on technical and engineering aspects of grid performance and development. It is the Government’s role to demand that EirGrid examine the NSIP impact in its totality and hence give undergrounding priority for implementation.

In light of recent activities by EirGrid concerning the proposed 400KV North-South interconnector project, NEPPC, on behalf of the stakeholders and landowners it represents, is considering a legal challenge against EirGrid, and the Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources (DCENR) on grounds of discrimination, misrepresentation of the facts and a dereliction of public consultation duties. NEPPC is also issuing a formal complaint and request for an investigation to the European Commission.

Sell-out to Minister Rabbitte & EirGrid by local TD’s will not be forgotten by people of the North-East

The North-South interconnector project is the longest running major electricity grid infrastructure project in the country. It was first publicised in 2007, but was withdrawn from planning by EirGrid in 2010, due to numerous inadequacies in the submission.

For the last seven years NEPPC has been consistently calling for a route specific underground study for the North-South interconnector to be performed. It has called on the 7 Government TD’s of the 11 in total in the North-East to demand that such a study be performed by an independent body.

Tame Coalition representatives in North-East have failed to deliver for their constituents
There are 3 major electricity transmission infrastructure projects being advanced by EirGrid as part of its ‘Grid 25’ strategy, namely:
1. The North-South interconnector project, announced in 2007, stretching140 km from Meath to Tyrone.
2. Grid-West project, announced in 2012 running c. 110 km from Mayo to Roscommon, and
3. Grid-Link project, announced in 2013, stretching 250 km from Kildare to Cork .
The Government has appointed an Independent Expert Panel (IEP) to examine the undergrounding of the Grid-West and Grid-Link projects, but has excluded the North-South interconnector project, on the grounds of ‘urgency’.